The dust has cleared, the geeks have scattered and the University of Pretoria is once again at peace (relatively speaking of course, these are students we’re talking about). From what I saw during the short time that I was there, Upcon appears to have been a success this year. Early morning attendance rates on Saturday had the organizers worrying that some of the halls would burst.
Here are a few pictures of some of the fun that happened on saturday, as well as some information on what makes a convention like Upcon work:
Cosplay:
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It takes a lot of confidence and courage to cosplay. Cosplayers are often subject to ridicule online and can have their outfits subjected to the harshest of scrutiny by the online community. Fortunately the cosplayers at Upcon are all treated with respect and awe for their amazing skills.
Cosplay costumes vary greatly and can range from simple outfits to highly detailed “mecha” suits. Cosplay is generally considered different from Halloween and Mardi Gras costume wear as the intention is to accurately replicate a specific character, rather than to reflect the culture and symbolism of a holiday event. As such, when in costume, cosplayers will often seek to adopt the affect, mannerisms and body language of the characters they portray (with “out of character” breaks). The characters chosen to be cosplayed may be sourced from any movie, TV series, book, comic book, video game or music band but the practice of cosplay is most often associated with replicating anime and manga characters.
Most cosplayers create their own outfits, referencing images of the characters in the process. In the creation of the outfits, much time is given to detail and quality, thus the skill of a cosplayer may be measured by how difficult the details of the outfit is and how well they have been replicated. – Wikipedia
Here are a couple of Youtube videos that show some amazing Cosplay, and also give you an idea of the kind of fun, crazy people who take part in cosplay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KmoKOrKJvk
Stalls:
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A comic and gaming convention would be nothing without the awesome merchandise on sale. There are several local vendors who are regular stall holders at Upcon. My favourite stall holders are always those who make their own original content. A great example of this is SIN BIN (pictured in the first 3 images), who makes the most amazing accessories and costumes to order. If you can imagine it, SIN BIN can probably make it real! (Note: The tiger plushie pictured in the first image is not a SIN BIN product, it was made for SIN by someone else)
Some of the other regular stall holders are:
Blak Bunni – http://www.blakbunni.co.za/
Extreme Wargaming
Medieval Adventures (Mead) – http://meadsa.co.za/
Plushie Heaven
SIN BIN: Graphic and Fashion Design – http://www.sin-bin.co.za
Tales of Teana – https://www.teana.co.za/
The Underground
Miscellaneous:
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And last, but definitely not least, are the people who make a convention possible. This includes everyone, from the people behind the scenes slaving away in the kitchens, to the organizers who perform herculean feats in order to bring it all together and of course the attendees! Conventions are made fun by the easy camaraderie and friendliness of a large group of like minded people convening together to share experiences and interests.
A huge thank you goes out to all of those who worked so intensively to make Upcon possible! Hopefully the convention will continue to grow each year and attract more and more fun, amazing people.
I have it on good authority that the prizes donated by Exclusives.co.za where all well received. Hopefully we will be able to continue to foster good relationships with our friends in the gaming and anime communities.
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